As we begin to look ahead to the opportunities ahead in 2007, it also pays to look back on lessons learned in the last year as well. Here are some lessons learned from trading that you can implement to take yourself to higher levels of prosperity in the year ahead.
1. Trading is a mirror of other elements of my life. If I am behaving in an undisciplined way outside of trading, my trading shows undisciplined behavior like not following stops. If I feel depressed about something in my personal life, my trading observations will not pick up as many opportunities as I cannot see the possibilities that I see when I am in a positive frame of mind. Use a journal to diagram issues in your trading that can allow you to not only be a more effective trader but also experience personal growth.
2. Treat every trade as both a potential loser and a potential winner. Know how to tell the difference when you're in it. . Think positively. Have confidence in yourself. If you don't feel good about what you're doing, change it immediately.
4. Never make a trade on a market that just completed a major move if the only reason for making the trade is that you just saw a major move and missed it. (Warning: Those most susceptible to this are the ones who did expect the move but made the trade earlier.)
5. Winning traders and losing traders experience the trading environment differently. It makes them feel different and as a result their actions consistently vary. In psychological terms, they interpret the market differently because they have a separate belief system in the way that they see themselves relative to the stock market. Change your belief system from the reactionary emotional beliefs of most losing traders to a more proactive unemotional approach.
6. Know when not to trade. This skill is just as important as knowing when to pull the trigger. Part of being a great trader is being a keen observer of what a stock is telling you. By committing to observe objectively, you give yourself permission not to trade until the conditions are right.
7. Don't trade for excitement or entertainment. Avoid the highs that come from quick profits or the lows that can appear after losses. If you have a sound system, it does not matter whether any particular trade makes a profit or a loss. What matters is that the probabilities over time are in your favor. You must remember that no system is perfect, and prepare for losses along the way. You should measure yourself on whether you followed your rules and executed your system, for both winning and losing trades. The process of trading is much easier when you focus on execution of a system rather than on whether each individual trade was right or not, because you take your ego out of the process. This makes you more rational and less emotional, which leads to better investment performance.
8. It is critically important to protect your psychological capital by not overtrading or playing for excitement instead of profits. This can cause you to be emotionally "drawn down", and then sit out, usually as a move just begins that could have been a big opportunity. Yet you miss the new big trend because you were financially and emotionally exhausted by overtrading in a tough market. As a result, you can't see through the negative emotions because you feel beat up by the markets. Managing your internal psychological state of mind is equally important as managing your financial position.
9. Be careful not to overreact to intraday news. It seems to me like every year, there are more whipsaws where the opening occurred in one direction but was then reversed with a close in the opposite direction. I like to do my preparation for each day's trading in advance after the previous day's close, so I know what the market structure looks like heading into the next day's trading. This allows me to move from a reactionary state to a more proactive posture. This helps position your mindset to capitalize on news-driven intraday volatility.
10. Accept total responsibility for the results of your trading. Remember that losers always look for somebody else to blame. Winners look to themselves particularly if they have to take a loss on some trades, as is inevitable for all traders and all systems. When you accept total responsibility, you commit that in any market environment you will find the way to win.
Price Headley is the founder and chief analyst of BigTrends.com.

What is the definition of confidence? I define confidence as positive thoughts, feelings and actions reflecting your self-belief and expectations of your ultimate success. Success is never guaranteed, but self-doubt and negativity can ensure failure. When you believe in yourself, you move away from harmful distractions such as anxiety and fear, and you move toward a more effective performance focus. Today, we'll take a look at how to make sure you're confident enough to survive the trading game.
Aside from the obvious benefits, confidence also bolsters your internal security during trading slumps and gives you additional fuel to persevere through challenging periods. Self-belief promotes traders to create more ambitious performance targets, allowing for greater accomplishment. Traders who display low confidence tend to worry excessively about mistakes, lose focus on what's driving results, quit trading at the wrong times and get overly worked up about each new trade. Excess confidence can also be dangerous in causing a trader to overcommit capital and be subjected to too much risk when a position goes bad. So your goal should be to promote the internal confidence while still showing the external disciplines to prevent the ego from taking over the consistent execution of a trading method.
Here are seven tips to encourage greater confidence:
1. Frequently visualize a successful trading process. What goes into good trading for you? Make sure you see the preparation required, the focus you have during the trading day, and the continous learning from both winning and losing trades to keep getting more effective.
2. Increase your level of physical fitness, as this will enhance both your trading alertness and give a boost to your self-image simultaneously. Both of these elements make you a more confidence trader.
3. Make a list of your strengths. Review this list regularly to remind yourself of how successful you really are.
4. Eliminate negative thoughts and memories. When they occur, replace them with positive self-statements (for example, "I create my own luck" or "I have a good written plan of how I will execute my trades").
5. Have a general strategy going into each trading day. When you prepare the day before, you position yourself to be proactive and gain confidence as you implement your plan. How aware are you of what you're experiencing in your mind, body and soul at any moment? You need to set up a monitoring system at the end of each trading day, to summarize what you executed according to your rules and what you did not. Look for patterns in your behavior, that you can copy if they work for you, or minimize if they are costing you.
6. Create positive body language regardless of the gain or loss on that trading day. The way you act will often influence the way you feel for future trades. The more confident you feel, the more confidence you will show in your trading.
7. Improve on areas of weakness during preparation time and you'll create more confidence and belief during the trading day.
Focus on one of these seven tips at a time, until you can build that area as a habit in your routine. This will service to greatly improve your trading confidence over time.
Price Headley is the founder and chief analyst of BigTrends.com.

What is the definition of confidence? I define confidence as positive thoughts, feelings and actions reflecting your self-belief and expectations of your ultimate success. Success is never guaranteed, but self-doubt and negativity can ensure failure. When you believe in yourself, you move away from harmful distractions such as anxiety and fear, and you move toward a more effective performance focus. Today, we'll take a look at how to make sure you're confident enough to survive the trading game.
Aside from the obvious benefits, confidence also bolsters your internal security during trading slumps and gives you additional fuel to persevere through challenging periods. Self-belief promotes traders to create more ambitious performance targets, allowing for greater accomplishment. Traders who display low confidence tend to worry excessively about mistakes, lose focus on what's driving results, quit trading at the wrong times and get overly worked up about each new trade. Excess confidence can also be dangerous in causing a trader to overcommit capital and be subjected to too much risk when a position goes bad. So your goal should be to promote the internal confidence while still showing the external disciplines to prevent the ego from taking over the consistent execution of a trading method.
Here are seven tips to encourage greater confidence:
1. Frequently visualize a successful trading process. What goes into good trading for you? Make sure you see the preparation required, the focus you have during the trading day, and the continous learning from both winning and losing trades to keep getting more effective.
2. Increase your level of physical fitness, as this will enhance both your trading alertness and give a boost to your self-image simultaneously. Both of these elements make you a more confidence trader.
3. Make a list of your strengths. Review this list regularly to remind yourself of how successful you really are.
4. Eliminate negative thoughts and memories. When they occur, replace them with positive self-statements (for example, "I create my own luck" or "I have a good written plan of how I will execute my trades").
5. Have a general strategy going into each trading day. When you prepare the day before, you position yourself to be proactive and gain confidence as you implement your plan. How aware are you of what you're experiencing in your mind, body and soul at any moment? You need to set up a monitoring system at the end of each trading day, to summarize what you executed according to your rules and what you did not. Look for patterns in your behavior, that you can copy if they work for you, or minimize if they are costing you.
6. Create positive body language regardless of the gain or loss on that trading day. The way you act will often influence the way you feel for future trades. The more confident you feel, the more confidence you will show in your trading.
7. Improve on areas of weakness during preparation time and you'll create more confidence and belief during the trading day.
Focus on one of these seven tips at a time, until you can build that area as a habit in your routine. This will service to greatly improve your trading confidence over time.
Price Headley is the founder and chief analyst of BigTrends.com.

Shanghai. December 20. INTERFAX-CHINA - China's plans to allow greater foreign participation and to streamline the gold industry are unlikely to impact short-term market supply or demand, but they are the first steps towards integrating the country's gold exchange into world markets, analysts say.

INTERNATIONAL oil prices soared in 2006, reaching an all-time high of US$78,36 per barrel in August impacting negatively on non-oil-producing countries such as Zimbabwe.Fuel prices in Zimbabwe were very volatile this year with fuel dealers charging prices well above the Government-stipulated pricesFor the greater part of the year the country was caught in a fuel price spiral caused by shortages of foreign currency and rising international oil prices.
The rise in international oil prices came mainly on the back of political tensions in the Middle East as well as worries that members of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries would be unable to increase output in the event of supply disruption from other major producers. Opec accounts for about 40 percent of the world's crude oil supplies, and currently production is at around 28 million barrels per day.
In the past, the steep rise in oil prices occurred mostly in the wake of disruptions to oil supplies, such as the first and second oil crises, the Gulf war, Iraqi war and terrorism concerns, etc.
The rise in oil prices has had an adverse impact on the world economy, particularly on non-oil-producing countries, as this translates into a corresponding rise in oil prices on the local market, and hence general rise in prices.
Furthermore, the trends in the international oil situation and oil prices are major factors that have a significant influence on world economic growth.
In Zimbabwe, fuel prices have risen from around $280 per litre six months ago to around $2 700 although the gazetted price remains at $335 per litre.
The volatility of the exchange rate on the parallel market has also led to speculative pricing, causing unwarranted price hikes.
In these difficult times, it is imperative for the authorities to be innovative and introduce measures that rid the fuel sector of the retrogressive arbitrage and rent seeking activities to establish some form of control.
In trying to mitigate the effects of oil prices, Zimbabwe has taken an aggressive campaign to look for substitutes in the form of biodiesel and coal bed methane.
In an effort to prevent any weakening of prices in 2007 Opec has unanimously agreed to cut output by a combined 500 000 barrels (2 percent) per day, with the move delayed until February 1 when the northern hemisphere winter season comes to an end.
This move was, however, against the warnings from the International Energy Agency, the oil consumers' club, that the previous cut of 1,2 million barrels agreed in October but not fully implemented was already leaving the market tight.
By postponing the further reduction until the peak demand period has passed, Opec was also responding to most importer nations' concerns that an immediate cut would drive prices higher.
Meanwhile, US government data released last week showed that crude oil stocks in the world's largest consuming economy had fallen by 4,3 million barrels as imports declined, while a monthly report from the IEA, an advisor to 26 industrialised countries, re-vealed that industrialised countries' crude oil stocks had declined by 40 million barrels in October.
These data in turn stand as evidence that the November 1 2006 production cut implemented by the oil cartel was impacting negatively on the economy, and that the approved February 1 2007 cut was going to exert further pressure.
However, some critics continue to question the organisation's ability to work as a whole, as they made reference to the similar failed December 2004 game plan.
The price of oil has fluctuated widely over the past 50 years and the first "oil shock" occurred when Opec members, acting partly in response to the United States' support for Israel in the 1973 Yom Kippur war, agreed to control oil supplies and raised prices by more than 400 percentOil prices stabilised in the late 1970s at around US$25 per barrel, before rising to a new peak of around US$39 per barrel following the outbreak of war between Iraq and Iran in 1981,which severely disrupted supplies.
The peak, however, was short-lived and prices gradually declined in real terms over the next 20 years, with the exception of a brief upturn associated with the 1991 Gulf War.
By 1999, oil prices fell as low as $13 per barrel, equivalent in real terms to the price prevailing before 1973 due to improvements in supply. Prices began to firm from 2000, initially responding to cutbacks in Opec output and strong global demand, particularly from the United States and China

Eastman Kodak Co.’s health group has raised prices on all its medical imaging films and related supplies; the second time Kodak done so in 2006. Kodak said the continued high costs of raw materials, especially silver, were the main reason for the 8% to 12% price increases.
“This year has seen unprecedented high costs for basic commodities such as silver. These costs continue to escalate,”president of Kodak’s health group, Kevin Hobert, said in a statement.

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Silver for March delivery sank 34 cents to $12.64 per ounce today on Nymex

SINGAPORE (Reuters) -- Shares in Asian exporters such as Sony Corp. rose on Monday after tame U.S. inflation data reassured investors the world's top economy was heading for a soft landing, but miners fell on weaker base metal prices.
A regional share index touched the latest in a series of record highs and indexes in Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong extended their record-setting runs.
Financial bookmakers in London forecast the FTSE 100 index to open between 10 and 21 points lower.
On Friday, U.S. data showed consumer prices held steady in November, confounding forecasts for a small rise and reassuring investors that inflation was under control in the most important overseas market for Asian firms.
Sony shares rose 2.2 percent and Honda Motor Co. Ltd. gained 2.6 percent. In Seoul, car maker Kia Motors rose 1.5 percent.
Mining stocks such as global heavyweights BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto fell after base metal prices faltered, but gains for financial stocks such as National Australia Bank nudged the S&P ASX 200 to its third straight record close.
Tokyo's Nikkei rose 0.3 percent to its highest close in seven months. Toshiba Corp. gained 1.3 percent after its subsidiary Westinghouse Electric won a nuclear power contract in China estimated to be worth as much as $8 billion.
MSCI's broadest index of Asian shares outside Japan was up 0.4 percent at 0615 GMT, after earlier hitting a record, while Singapore's Straits Times and an index of Hong Kong-listed shares in mainland China firms, known as H-shares, also hit new peaks.
Seoul's benchmark index closed up 0.8 percent and Taiwan's benchmark index rose 1.1 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng was 0.1 percent higher at the lunchtime break.
The dollar lost steam after gaining against major currencies last week when mixed economic data appeared to make it less likely that the Federal Reserve would start lowering interest rates early next year.
The Bank of Japan is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged at 0.25 percent on Tuesday at the end of a two-day policy meeting, so dealers are focusing on what Governor Fukui has to say.
"If Fukui suggests that the BOJ could raise rates in January, we could see the yen gain, as not everyone in the market is expecting a lift next month," said Toru Umemoto, chief forex strategist at Barclays Capital in Tokyo.
The dollar bought around 117.95 yen at 0615 GMT, down a touch from late on Friday in New York. The euro firmed to around $1.3105.
March 10-year Japanese government bond futures fell 0.24 point to 134.08, after tumbling as much as 0.55 point on Friday. The benchmark 10-year JGB yield rose 2.5 basis points to 1.685 percent.
Gold was trading around $617.50 an ounce.

LONDON - OPEC on Monday said the world oil market shows signs of weakening in 2007 as economic growth slows, a problem the exporter group seeks to address through its decision last week to cut supply. In a monthly report, the group that pumps more than a third of the world's oil held its forecast for global demand growth at 1.3 million barrels per day and said a weakening US economy posed risks to the outlook."Risks for oil demand appear to be more weighed on the downside, given the dangers to global economic growth emanating from a visibly weakening US economy," the report by OPEC economists at the group's Vienna headquarters said.The report follows a deal last week by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to cut supply by 500,000 barrels per day, or 2 percent, from February 1. Oil in New York has risen about $2 a barrel since the decision to stand at $63.18."This reduction has been scheduled to come into effect after the winter season, ensuring sufficient crude supplies during this strong demand period while addressing looming market imbalances for 2007," the report said.Forecasts for 2007, including a supply surge from non-OPEC countries of 1.8 million bpd -- the fastest growth in two decades -- point to "weakening fundamentals," it said.Rising supply from the Caspian, Africa and other regions would, if realised, reduce demand for OPEC oil to an average of 28.29 million bpd from 28.93 in 2006, OPEC said.The world economy will also grow more slowly. OPEC expects an expansion of 4.4 percent next year led by developing countries, down from 5.1 percent in 2006.Lower outputThe International Energy Agency, adviser to the industrialised world, said last week its own, slightly higher estimate of oil demand growth next year faced downside risks.But the agency, an adviser to 26 industrialised countries, urged OPEC to hold off on making a new supply reduction because existing supply curbs were already tightening the oil market.OPEC's decision last week to cut supply followed a deal it implemented in November to lower output by 1.2 million bpd to stem a slide in prices from July's all-time peak of $78.40.The report from OPEC added to estimates showing that members have yet to cut output by the full amount promised.OPEC's 10 members bound by supply targets, all except Iraq, lowered supply to 26.86 million bpd in November, OPEC's report said, citing secondary sources.That was down 552,000 bpd from October, but well above OPEC's target for November of 26.3 million bpd.A Reuters survey on December 6 found November supply from the 10 fell to 26.91 million bpd, down 730,000 bpd from October. Reuters

LONDON — Oil prices continued to slide Tuesday, a day after a warm-weather forecast in the United States triggered the biggest one-day drop in a month.
Prices dropped 1.9 per cent on Monday, reversing last week's series of gains. It was the biggest dollar and percentage drop for the front-month contract since Nov. 16.
On Tuesday, light sweet crude for January delivery fell 37 cents (U.S.) to $61.84 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
February Brent at London's ICE Futures exchange fell 56 cents to $61.57 a barrel.Monday's price drop in the oil complex was led by heating oil, which dropped after the U.S. National Weather Service predicted above-normal temperatures for most of the country, the world's biggest energy user, for the rest of December.
Crude oil prices rose $1.41 a barrel last week, mostly because the Organization of Oil Exporting Countries agreed to cut production by a further 500,000 barrels a day starting February. The decision came on the heels of the cartel's October decision to remove 1.2 million barrels a day of production from the market.
While traders were initially skeptical of OPEC's ability to get members to comply with the October cut, a drop in production from most of the cartel's 11 members has given more weight to the last decision.
Crude had less of a fall than heating oil Monday, continuing to trade between $60 and $64 a barrel, a range it has been stuck in since the end of November.
The next planned event traders will focus on is the weekly U.S. inventory data from the Department of Energy, due Wednesday.
Stocks of crude oil and distillate, which include heating oil and diesel, are expected to decline, while gasoline is expected to increase slightly.
In other Nymex trading Tuesday, heating oil futures fell 0.32 of a cent to $1.7175 a gallon, unleaded gasoline was down 0.4 of a cent to $1.6582 per gallon and natural gas futures rose 3.1 cents to $7.106 per 1,000 cubic feet.

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil held above $63 on Monday, as dense fog delayed crude imports to refiners in the world's largest energy consumer the United States.OPEC's plan to deepen oil output curbs from February also lent support.U.S. crude traded down 28 cents at $63.15 a barrel at 1052 GMT, after rising 92 cents on Friday to the highest close in two weeks. Tankers struggled for the fourth consecutive day on Sunday to deliver oil supplies to refineries in Houston and Texas City, which between them account for nearly 12 percent of U.S. refining capacity.The refineries also supply crude oil to pipeline systems for refineries in other parts of the country.The bad weather has caused intermittent delays along the 53- mile (85-km) Houston Ship Channel, although forecasters said the fog should lift early this week.Fog also affected imports to other refining centers along the U.S. Gulf of Mexico coast.Some refiners have warned that they may need to slow fuel production due to the delays, but none so far have announced output reductions.OPEC CUTThe shipping disruptions could hit relatively high U.S. crude inventories, which may also soon start to show the effect of a 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) supply cut by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), effective from Nov 1. OPEC last week decided to make a second output cut of 500,000 bpd, to start from February, to prevent stockpiles rising again after the northern hemisphere winter.OPEC's deal struck a balance between price hawks concerned about inventories, and others who worried that an immediate cut could leave markets short at the height of winter.A Reuters survey shows OPEC only met about two-thirds of its November cutbacks, so some analysts question whether fresh limits will be effective in supporting prices that have slid about 20 percent from a record over $78 in July."I'm not convinced OPEC's production cuts were enough to turn this market around," said Christopher Bellew, broker at Bache Financial in London.U.S. crude oil stocks fell a sharper-than-expected 4.3 million barrels last week, but still stand at their highest since 1998 for this time of year.Supplies of crude from Nigeria, already down by about a fifth because of militant attacks, have been further trimmed by gunmen who seized an oil platform operated by Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile , Research) in the Niger Delta, shutting its 12,000 bpd oil output, the company said on Saturday.Mild weather continues to limit the need for heating fuel in the United States. Temperatures in the U.S. Northeast were expected to remain above average for at least the next five days, according to private forecaster DTN Mete

Dec. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said he probably won't hold an election before 2008, giving himself more time to battle corruption and muster support.
``Next year is too early,'' Abdullah, 67, said in an interview at his home in Putrajaya, south of Kuala Lumpur. ``I have to prove that a lot of things can be done and have been done and we have succeeded.''
Abdullah, who must seek a fresh mandate by early 2009, said it's ``not easy'' to stamp out graft, which he called ``cancerous.'' Too few criminals end up in court even as the government investigates a ``very high'' number of cases, he said.
Abdullah may lose support at the next election, former premier Mahathir Mohamad said in October. Analysts say fuel price increases have eaten into incomes, pushing many into corruption. Before a poll, the premier may also have to mend relations in his ethnic coalition, where pro-Malay speeches by some leaders have stoked tensions with Chinese counterparts.
``How can he go to elections?'' said Shamsul Amri Baharuddin, director of the Institute of the Malay World and Civilization at the University of Malaysia. ``Basic economic issues could be decisive for urban voters who are really suffering. That has made a lot of people more corrupt.''
Abdullah said he's bolstered his team of investigators and warned officials of the dangers of taking bribes. Malaysia fell to 44th in the 2006 Corruption Perceptions Index from 39th last year, Transparency International said Nov. 6.
Not Happening
``We are doing as much as we can,'' Abdullah said in the Dec. 8 interview. ``If the perception goes on the basis of how many people we drag to court and gain a conviction, of course it doesn't seem to be happening.''
An independent inquiry ordered by Abdullah last year found ``corruption in the royal police force that permeates all levels of the organization.''
Abdullah came to power in October 2003 and led the Barisan Nasional coalition to a landslide election victory in March 2004. He expects his five-year 200 billion-ringgit ($56 billion) plan to improve education and health care, and build roads, ports and houses to fuel faster economic growth.
To deliver growth, Abdullah said he needs a sound racial and political platform.
Former Premier Mahathir, who picked Abdullah as his successor, in October accused him of achieving nothing since taking over, and last month's meeting of the ruling party, the United Malays National Organisation, strained ties within Barisan Nasional.
`Uneasiness'
UMNO, as the 60-year-old party is known, has more than 3 million members and is the biggest political group in the coalition.
Hishammuddin Hussein, head of UMNO's youth wing, said in his assembly speech the position of the ethnic Malay majority shouldn't be challenged and brandished a keris, a traditional Malay dagger. The Malaysian Chinese Association, part of Barisan Nasional, said the act created ``uneasiness'' among other races.
``I'm equally concerned'' about race relations, Abdullah said in the interview. ``I know the consequences of race problems and racial tensions, on the economy, on the social development, even on our future.''
Clashes between Malays, who make up about 60 percent of the nation's population of about 27 million, and ethnic Chinese in 1969 left hundreds dead on the streets of Kuala Lumpur. Two years later, the government introduced the New Economic Policy to give ethnic Malays privileged access to housing, education, jobs and company shares.
`Positive Sentiment'
Malaysia risks a return to racial unrest if the affirmative action policies are scrapped, Mahathir said in an Oct. 9 interview. Mahathir ruled Malaysia from 1981 to 2003.
Critics of the program say it drags on productivity and impedes competition. Under Abdullah, economic growth in Southeast Asia's third-biggest economy accelerated to 7.2 percent in 2004, then slowed to 5.2 percent in 2005.
Still, Abdullah's policies are good enough for many investors. The Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange Composite Index has jumped 23 percent this year, outpacing 14 out of 18 major global benchmark indexes worldwide tracked by Bloomberg.
``We have more in Malaysia than we've had for quite a few years,'' said Anders Damgaard, who helps oversee $500 million of assets, including $35 million in Malaysian securities, at Sydinvest Asset Management in Aabenraa, Denmark. ``There seems to be a positive sentiment towards Malaysia.''
The government has said expansion this year may beat its 5.8 percent forecast. Abdullah said growth in 2007 will be ``not too far away'' from the 6 percent target.
`Wild Card'
That's ambitious, say some analysts. The economy grew 5.8 percent in the three months to Sept. 30, the worst performance in three quarters. Slowing growth in the U.S., Malaysia's biggest trading partner, may next year damp demand for computer chips and other Asian-made goods.
``The wild card is how the export sector will perform,'' said Lee Heng Guie, chief economist at CIMB Securities Sdn. in Kuala Lumpur, who expects the economy to grow 5.6 percent in 2007. Abdullah ``is building the foundation for stronger growth'' beyond 2010, he said.
Malaysia aims to be a developed nation by 2020. Asked if he'll run for a second term, Abdullah said, ``We'll see. Why not?''
Abdullah must dissolve Parliament by May 17, 2009, in preparation for an election, or it will happen automatically on that date, according to the election commission. After Parliament is dissolved, an election must be held within 60 days.
Anwar Ibrahim
An election after 2007 sets up a possible return for former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who was arrested in 1998 and imprisoned for almost six years on corruption and sodomy charges.
Malaysia's Federal Court quashed the sodomy conviction in 2004 though upheld the corruption charge. Anwar is eligible for public office in 2008 and said in an interview last month that he plans to run for parliament at the next election.
Living costs have increased in Malaysia after the government raised fuel prices in February, the fifth time since May 2004, and state-controlled Tenaga Nasional Bhd. was allowed to raise power prices in June by 12 percent, its first rate increase in nine years.
Still, the prime minister ruled out cutting interest rates to encourage growth.
``No, no, no,'' he said. ``We are not planning on that at the moment.'' He said he won't cut gasoline prices either because crude oil costs haven't fallen far enough.
Malaysia's central bank has kept its key interest rate unchanged at 3.5 percent since April. Crude oil, at $61.30 a barrel, has fallen 22 percent from the record $78.40 on July 14.

VIENNA, Austria (AP) _ To cut or not to cut? The mixed signals being sent by OPEC nations on the need for reducing output are keeping traders guessing ahead of the organization's meeting Thursday.
Prices have risen from recent lows to above $60 a barrel, removing some of the urgency behind calls from members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to cut production further when oil ministers meet in Nigeria.
At the same time, ministers are keeping a wary eye on inventories _ the amount of crude in stock in the United States and other major oil customers. The most recent complete figures, from the end of September, showed supplies in the major industrialized nations at 2.76 billion barrels. That represents 53 days of demand and is up from the 2.64 billion barrels being held at the same time last year, according to the International Energy Agency.
Those inventory levels _ the highest in eight years _ could speak for further cutbacks on the heels of OPEC's decision last month to reduce output by 1.2 million barrels a day. Oil minister Ali Naimi of Saudi Arabia, the OPEC powerhouse, said last week that 100 million barrels must be whittled from stockpiles in industrialized nations.
``The sense is that supply is still higher than demand, so another cut may be necessary,'' said Eshan Ul-Haq, chief analyst at Vienna's PVM Oil Associates, when asked what OPEC would likely decide at the meeting in Abuja.
Still, newer statistics indicate that the September inventory figures may not be revealing the true state of oil-market affairs.
The latest weekly snapshot from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, released last week, showed crude stocks in the world's largest petroleum consumer plummeted by 53.5 million barrels since the end of September. That nearly negated a record buildup of 56.7 million barrels accrued in the second quarter of the year.
That leaves a mixed picture at least for the United States _ crude stocks falling to their lowest level since June but remaining at a 12-year high for this time of year. Even considering that oil derivative inventories _ gasoline, diesel and heating oil _ have been falling, total oil and derivative stocks are at their highest level since 1998.
That complex picture _ and prices above the red line of $60 _ could lead the ministers to opt for something less than an immediate cut but more than maintaining the status quo.
OPEC acting Secretary-General Mohammed Barkindo was hedging his bets Monday, saying it was too early to say whether the group will announce another cut to production.
``Its very premature to talk about cutting,'' he told Dow Jones Newswires. ``We need to look at more numbers and that's what we'll be doing in the next few days.
``We need to look at inventories, they've been very high, and production data.''
Frederic Lasserre, chief analyst at SG Securities in Paris, said ministers could decide in Abuja to call for a special meeting in January or February that would ``implement a cut in February or March or April'' _ looking ahead to the second quarter when demand traditionally falls after the high-consumption winter in the Northern Hemisphere.
According to Oil Movements, which tracks tanker shipments, OPEC has implemented only two-thirds of its planned 1.2 million barrel cutback. Lasserre said ``weak compliance'' with the November target also reduces the likelihood of a further immediate reduction.
``It would be dangerous to have another cut without implementing the first cut properly,'' he said, suggesting that OPEC's image as an effective price and supply regulator would suffer.
In addition, he said, OPEC ``might be short of ammunition if they announce a cut already'' _ leaving their list of options limited should a further reduction become necessary in the first or second quarter of next year.
Still, all options remain open.
Prince Turki al-Faisal, the Saudi ambassador to the United States, said last week his country sees $60 as an acceptable benchmark price _ and recent prices have surpassed that mark.
But not by a large margin. Oil was trading below $62 a barrel at midday Monday on the New York Mercantile Exchange. A sudden and major downward turn would likely increase backing for traditional OPEC price hawks like Iran and Venezuela, which would like to see prices closer to $70.
In addition, $60 now is not $60 a year ago _ at least from the point of view of OPEC nations which have seen their buying power in Europe erode by the growing strength of the euro. That, says Ul-Haq, could also go into the mix of factors prompting decisions at Abuja.
``Many OPEC members are complaining, because they have to buy the bulk of their consumer goods in Europe,'' he said. ``Prices are still not high enough for them.''

Definition: An index designed to measure the change in price of a fixed market basket of goods and services. The market basket of goods and services is representative of the purchases of a typical urban consumer. The index is intended to measure pure price change only; attempts are made to remove changes in price resulting from changes in quality.Source: U.S. Department of Labor; Bureau of Labor StatisticsFrequency: MonthlyAvailability: Generally available the second week of the month immediately following the month for which data is being released; always released after the Producer Price Index.Reason: The rate of change of the CPI is one of the key measures of inflation for the U.S. economy. Acceleration or deceleration of inflation may signal that a change in monetary policy may be appropriate.

VANCOUVER, BC--(MARKET WIRE)--Dec 4, 2006 -- Ascendant Copper Corporation (TSX:ACX.TO - News) (Berlin:A0HMLE.BE - News) ("Ascendant" or the "Company") announced today the assay results from the first three diamond drill holes at its Chaucha copper project, Ecuador. These three exploration diamond drill holes were located along the southeastern edge of previously drilled zones of the Naranjos chalcocite enrichment zone. In the Micon International Co. Limited Technical Report (2), the Naranjos supergene blanket is estimated to have the drill indicated potential mineralization of 129 MT of 0.4% to 0.5% Cu and 0.02% to 0.03% Mo at a cut off of 0.3% Cu. This resource is based on 126 shallow (averaging approximately 100M in depth), small diameter (AX and BX) drilling accomplished by governmental agencies in the 1970s.

These three new exploration drill holes which were drilled to significantly greater depths discovered an extensive, well-developed, stockwork primary porphyry copper mineralization. The hydrothermal, primary copper and molybdenum mineralization is continuous and uniform in intensity from near the top of all three holes to bottom depths. Although no significant secondary enrichment was encountered, the style, intensity and uniformity of mineralization encountered suggest the presence of a major porphyry copper deposit lying to the south of the currently known Naranjos copper resource

Proving, perhaps, that the weather has more to do with oil prices than Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries does, crude oil prices dropped on Monday after the National Weather Service in the United States said that temperatures in most parts of the US will likely be above normal for the next two weeks. The prices were down even though both Saudi Arabia’s oil minister and the president of OPEC made comments implying that the organization thinks the market is still oversupplied and that it will cut production again later this month.
Brent crude for January deliver was down 95 cents to $63.67 per barrel. Meanwhile, January contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude was 97 cents lower to $62.46 per barrel after dropping as far as $61.90 per barrel earlier in the session.
In the metals markets, gold dropped 0.2 percent to $644.30 per troy ounce as demand for bullion as an investment has gone up even as jewelry demand has dropped as prices have risen.
Among base metals, three-month aluminium was up to $2,832.5 per tonne at one point during the session and dealers expected that it could go as high as $3,000 per tonne before December options expire on Wednesday. By the end of the session, however, aluminium ended up 0.3 percent lower to $2,809.5 per tonne. Nickel dropped 1 percent to $22,550 per tonne, while copper was steady at $7,000 per tonne despite an increase of 4,500 tonnes in London Metal Exchange inventories.
Base metals prices were mixed, however, as zinc was 1.4 percent higher to $4,460 per tonne and lead gained 2.6 percent to $1,739 per tonne as LME stockpiles fell by 1,325 tonnes.

PRECIOUS METALS REVIEW - 12/01/06

A slowing U.S. economy . . . increasing inflation . . . a falling U.S.
Dollar . . . and rising gold and silver prices dominated the financial
news this week. On Tuesday, Fed chairman Ben Bernanke commented on an
"uncomfortably high" core inflation rate and said that inflation risks
still remain on the horizon. And, although the Commerce Department on
Thursday announced real consumer spending rose in October following two
"lukewarm months," there was news that other sectors of the U.S.
economy have not fared as well: Sales of new homes fell 3.2% in October
according to a Commerce Department report on Wednesday . . . while the
National Association of Realtors said on Tuesday that prices of existing
homes sold in October fell for the third straight month. The Labor
Department announced on Thursday that U.S. workers filing initial jobless
claims climbed by the highest amount in more than a year last week. On
Tuesday, the government reported that durable goods orders for expensive
items like cars and refrigerators posted the biggest drop in more than
six years in October. On Friday, the Institute of Supply Management
released a report showing that U.S. manufacturing shrank in November for
the first time in over three years. On Friday, the U.S. Dollar fell
sharply against other currencies, touching a new 20-month low against the
euro and a 14-year low versus the British pound.

In the precious metals markets this week . . .

GOLD:
Monex spot gold prices opened the week at $641 . . . traded as high as
$649 on Friday and as low as $633 on Tuesday . . . and the Monex AM
settlement price on Friday was $645, up $16 for the week. Gold support is
now anticipated at $637, then $630, and then $614.50 . . . and
resistance anticipated at $648.50, then $664, and then $682.

SILVER:
Monex spot silver prices opened the week at $13.46. . . traded as high
as $14.06 on Friday and as low as $13.44 on Tuesday . . . and the Monex
AM settlement price on Friday was $14.00, up $.96 (more than 7%) for
the week. Silver support is now anticipated at $13.85, then $13.50, and
then $13.24 . . . and resistance anticipated at $14.20, then $14.78,
and then $15.20.

PLATINUM:
Monex spot platinum prices opened the week at $1,181 . . . traded as
high as $1,185 on Monday and Tuesday and as low as $1,139 on Monday . . .
and the Monex AM settlement price on Friday was $1,157, unchanged for
the week. Platinum support is now anticipated at $1,148, then $1,130,
and then $1,097 . . . and resistance anticipated at $1,189, then $1,225,
and then $1,280.

PALLADIUM:
Monex spot palladium prices opened the week at $327 . . . traded as
high as $330 on Thursday and as low as $317 on Wednesday . . . and the
Monex AM settlement price on Friday was $327, up $3 for the week.
Palladium support is now anticipated at $322, then $315, and then $305 . . .
and resistance anticipated at $333.80, then $345, and then $360.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

From legendary market analyst and commentator Richard Russell, on his
Dow Theory Letters website this week:

"I can't emphasize strongly enough the importance of the dollar as the
world's reserve currency. Think of it -- the US continues to run
enormous trade and budget deficits, yet the rest of the world continues to
accept our fiat dollars, dollars that are not a claim on gold, dollars
that are not a claim on silver -- dollars that are not a claim on
anything! All the goods and merchandise and services that the US buys from
the rest of the world are bought with these fiat dollars. Dollars are
what the world has been trading with ever since World War II. Dollars
make up the great bulk of foreign reserves of almost every nation in the
world.

No other nation would be able to get away with what the US gets away
with. And it's all because the rest of the world accepts dollars, and
it's all because the dollar remains the world's reserve currency."

"Meanwhile . . . the US and the rest of the world are swimming in
liquidity. Private funds are in high-gear buying out corporations while
corporations are buying out or merging with other corporations. The
numbers are mind-boggling, and it appears that today's billion dollars are
simply yesterday's million dollars.

The enormous liquidity is finally beginning to trickle down to the man
on the street, which means that wages are now rising. This is worrying
Dr. Bernanke -- on the one hand it's nice to see the average family
doing better -- but on the other hand rising wages lead to inflation. A
little inflation is fine with the Fed, but rapid inflation puts the Fed
in a bad light and is not to be tolerated. The purchasing power of the
dollar may decline year decade after decade, but the death of the
dollar has got to be slow and subtle. In that manner, the populace can be
kept "dumb and passive." That's the Fed's way."




This is not a recommendation to buy or sell.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- February gold fell by $1.30 to $651.60 an ounce Friday morning after climbing more than $11 in the previous session. "The fact that the yellow metal is inaugurating December at current levels (overbought or not) is in itself an accomplishment that was not looking likely back in August," said Jon Nadler, an analyst at Kitco.com. "That such a climb was almost entirely dollar-induced remains fairly clear." March silver added 1.5 cents to $14.13 an ounce, but March copper lost 3.05 cents to $3.165 a pound.

Wheat rallies across the board! March Wheat futures closed 10 cents higher today to settle at $5.21 1/2 per bushel. Bulls were in control of the market the second the opening bell rung at the CBOT. Chicago Wheat has moved off its $5.60 high made on October 17th to test support after the news of the reduced wheat harvest spurned the rally that began mid-summer. However, the overall fundamental picture has not changed for Wheat as harvest this year is 15% lower than last year, resulting in an 11.2% decline in deliverable Wheat, stocks year over year. The collapse in the Dollar has also helped underpin the Wheat market, as export prices denominated in Dollars will look increasingly cheap to the international buyer. Momentum studies on the daily charts have March Wheat futures poised to test the upside in the short- term. Support can be found at $5.15 and $5 respectively with resistance pencilled in at $5.30 and the contract high at $5.60.
Gold futures soar on Dollar weakness. Metals prices seem to be trading in lockstep to Dollar weakness once again. The weaker Dollar/higher Gold paradigm is once again in play, as February Gold futures rallied $11.10 per ounce to close $652.90. Old resistance levels now are support, as the February Gold contract has broken out to the upside on the Dollar crashing to multi-year lows against the Pound Sterling and the Euro. The weak economic data for the US should support Gold, as the yellow metal tends to draw buyers when paper assets are unattractive. Support for Gold basis February comes in at $640 and $635 respectively, while resistance is likely to be found at $660 in the coming sessions.
Stocks rock! Neither higher energy prices nor geopolitical tension around the globe can keep corporate America down. The bulls showed life today, as December S&P futures tested the contract high of 1408.75 before selling-off into the close to finish at 1402.90, up 7 points on the day. Momentum on the daily charts is still overbought, but still pointing higher. The S&P 500 index is subject to selling pressure, but the bulls still are in control, as tests of support have found buyers in the face of bad economic news all over the headlines. The December S&P contract has support at 1400, 1390, and 1385 respectively. Resistance can be found at the contract highs of $1408.75. XPRESSTRADE Analyst Carl Christensen .

Hot Stove SeasonWhile baseball fans in the Northeast may no longer gather around hot wood-burning stoves to warm their hands while debating the merits of trades and signings in anticipation of spring training, many are turning up the thermostat in their oil-heated homes as the temperatures dip during the nightly broadcast of SportsCenter.
The Northeast, which includes New England and the Central Atlantic regions, has traditionally been the main region using heating oil as a residential heating fuel. In 2004, 5.5 billion gallons of heating oil were sold to residential consumers in the Northeast; this comprises 82 percent of total residential heating fuel sales in the U.S. Not only do consumers in the Northeast use heating oil more than in any other region, 78 percent of all households that use heating oil as the primary heating fuel are located in the Northeast.
EIA uses the Petroleum Allocation for Defense District (PADD) boundaries as the basis for its regional petroleum supply reporting. Heating oil (high-sulfur distillate) inventories are reported for the entire East Coast (PADD I), as well as broken down into three sub-PADDs, PADD IA (New England), PADD IB (Central Atlantic), and PADD IC (Lower Atlantic). It is not unusual to see an imbalance between the relative inventories of heating oil stocks in New England and the Central Atlantic as compared to each area’s respective level of product demand. For example, in 2005, the Central Atlantic held about 69 percent of Northeast heating oil inventories even though it only accounted for 60 percent of Northeast sales (Prime Supplier sales data are used as a proxy for implied demand.)
This phenomenon is mostly a function of the hub of petroleum and shipping infrastructure located in the New York-New Jersey corridor, which is part of the Central Atlantic region. Most imports that come in from Europe to supplement heating oil supplies enter the U.S. on the East Coast, and New York Harbor is the major East Coast hub. Other waterborne shipments from the U.S. Gulf Coast, Venezuela, and the Virgin Islands also enter into New York Harbor. Additionally, there are several pipelines that run into the region, as well as the Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware refineries. There is also a high concentration of storage available in the area due to the high volume of product moving through the region. Product will often be stored in the Central Atlantic region until temperatures drop in New England, increasing demand and pulling product northward. Recognition of these factors leads EIA analysts to evaluate Northeast (New England and Central Atlantic) inventories as an aggregate rather than their individual pieces.
The charts below illustrate the history of New England and Central Atlantic inventories compared to their 5-year average range. Although inventories in both regions are above the average range prior to the first cold snap, this winter’s weather remains a key uncertainty and will be a major determinant for how quickly heating oil stocks are drawn down this winter. Additionally, inventories for the closest substitute to heating oil, diesel fuel, are relatively tight, which could put upward price pressure on both diesel fuel and heating oil if cold weather increases distillate demand sufficiently.

Reports of Ministry of Commerce asking FMC to ban Guar seed futures trading led to sharp fall in prices. Meanwhile, FMC has clarified there is no ban on futures trading in this. However, FMC may closly monitor the price movement. Currently, Indian prices quoting higher, which is affecting exporters. Prices may remain lower in the short term

NEW YORK (AP _ Oil futures closed just shy of 61 dollars a barrel today as prices rose on forecasts of colder weather and uncertainty ahead of an OPEC meeting. Light, sweet crude for January delivery rose 67 cents on the New York Mercantile Exchange -- to 60 dollars, 99 cents.

NEW YORK (AP) _ Another off day for the dollar, which hit a fresh 20-month low against the euro Tuesday, as disappointing economic data further dimmed the prospect of higher interest rates. The price of gold fell, closing at 637 dollars, 20 cents an ounce.

Oil rose again on Tuesday on expectations that a cold spell in the US northeast this weekend would boost demand in the world's biggest heating oil market.
US crude climbed 13 cents at $US60.45 a barrel by 1740 GMT after trading as high as $US61.20 in earlier activity, adding to gains of $US1.08 on Monday. London Brent crude rose 24 cents to $60.68.
Despite the rally, oil remained stuck in a two-month trading rut of $US58-$US62 a barrel and showed few signs of resuming a climb back toward a record high of $US78.40 a barrel in mid-July.
The National Weather Service said on Monday US heating demand this week would be about 24% below normal. NYMEX heating oil futures rose 0.6% on Tuesday.
Dollar weaker
The market also found support from a weaker dollar, which traded near a 20-month low against the euro.
The market is also looking ahead to an OPEC meeting on December 14 that could result in a further output cut. OPEC agreed at an emergency meeting in October to cut production by 1.2 million barrels per day.

SINGAPORE — Oil prices rose above US$61 a barrel in Asian trading Wednesday as the market considered forecasts for colder weather in the United States and next month's OPEC meeting.
In less than two weeks, the front-month crude-oil futures contract has climbed by more than US$5 a barrel, but prices are still trading within a range that has been roughly in place since the start of October.
Light sweet crude for January delivery was up 14 cents to US$61.13 a barrel in midmorning Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Barely two weeks ago, on Nov. 17, the December contract settled and expired at US$55.81 a barrel.
Prices have been rising this week after London-based newspaper Al-Hayat reported Monday that Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi had indicated that OPEC would evaluate the effect of October's decision to cut output when it meets next month in Abuja, Nigeria, and if necessary authorize another cut.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries announced in mid-October that it would reduce output by 1.2 million barrels a day, but skepticism that the cartel members are committed to production cuts, as well as milder-than-normal U.S. temperatures this fall, have moderated prices.
Oil prices have fallen by about 23 percent since hitting an all-time trading high above $78 a barrel in mid-July. They haven't settled above $62 a barrel since Oct. 1.
Traders were also focused on reports that called for wintry U.S. weather in the West to gradually move to the East by the end of the week.
In other Nymex trading, heating oil futures gained 0.12 cent to US$1.7295 per gallon

Oil prices gained in Asian trade today, boosted by falling temperatures in the United States and continued weakness in the US dollar, dealers said.Comments by OPEC members that the cartel will push for another round of production cuts at its meeting next month also supported the market, they said.At 0845 IST New York's main contract, light sweet crude for January delivery, was up 13 cents at $61.12 a barrel from $60.99 in the United States yesterday, its highest level in three weeks

New York - Stocks advanced modestly Tuesday after Wall Street shrugged off a sharp drop in orders for manufactured goods and took comfort in the first gain in existing home sales in eight months.
The rise in stocks came after investors showed little reaction to comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke that he remains concerned that inflation or a steeper-than-expected decline in the housing market could harm an already slowing economy.
In the speech, which included Bernanke's most extensive comments on the economy since this summer, he said inflation remains higher than he would like but that it should fall as the economy cools.
The Commerce Department's report that orders for durable goods fell 8.3 percent in October - the largest drop in more than six years - stoked concerns that the economy is slowing at too fast a pace. But a report from the National Association of Realtors showing a slight uptick in home sales lent support to the market although it also revealed that the median selling price fell by the steepest level on record last month.
The market's muted response followed its worst session in more than four months on Monday. John Zielinski, a portfolio manager at Neuberger Berman, contends the market's drop was overblown and that investors could be seeing lower-than-usual liquidity. For many brokerages, Thursday marks the end of their fiscal year and they are therefore trying to lock in gains.
"The moves seem to be a little bit exaggerated based on the data points we're seeing," he said.
The Dow Jones industrial average was up 14.74, or 0.12 percent, at 12,136.45, after falling 158 Monday.
Broader stock indicators also rose. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was up 4.82, or 0.35 percent, at 1,386.72, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 6.69, or 0.28 percent, to 2,412.61.
Light, sweet crude oil rose 67 cents to settle at $60.99 a barrel.
Doug Sandler, chief equity strategist at Wachovia Securities, likens investors' behavior in the final month or so of the year to a nervous driver trying to steer a car while sitting too close to the windshield. Every move, he says, is exaggerated.
"You've got so many portfolio managers that are cognizant of where they stand for the year that if market moves they jump on it regardless of the direction," he said.

US DATA: US Oct durables goods orders -8.3% vs +8.7%r in Sept. Oct was the largest drop since -14% in July 2000 (Jan '04 was -8.1%), but more important is that the orders level is now below August's total. Durables ex-transport was -1.7% in its 3rd drop in 4 mos, and this is indicating a slowdown in mfg. Durables ex-defense was -6.4%. Computers & aircraft are the main decliners (civ aircraft orders -44.5% vs +198.2% in Sept).Most other categories posted small gains; an exception was a +5.1% surge in electrical eqpt. Shipments were +0.6% and Inventories +0.8%. NDCG shipments were -2.3%, indicating a slowing in business investment. Overall this was a weak report.

SAN FRANCISCO (ResourceInvestor. com) -- The dollar lost another 0.4% against the euro Monday after tumbling to a 1 1/2-year low against the euro on Friday. Gold futures gained nearly 2% as the euro traded at $1.313. Most of the speakers at the San Francisco Hard Assets Conference are in agreement - the U.S. dollar is heading lower and precious metals are heading higher.
Ron Paul, Congressman for the U.S. House of Representatives, slammed the sentiment home today when he said, "We are living on borrowed money and borrowed time and that will eventually come to an end."
"We are facing serious economic problems," he said. The fact that "the government can literally create money out of thin air is a recipe for disaster."
James Turk, founder and chairman of GoldMoney.com, said when central banks, such as the Bank of China, are diversifying away from the dollar, "there's something wrong."
However, analysts disagree about what impact a slowing U.S. economy would have on China and its demand for base metals and other pure commodities.
Yesterday, Marc Faber, Editor of the Gloom, Boom & Doom Report, said that an U.S. economic slowdown will not curb China's growth. He said Asian exports will continue to rise despite a slowing U.S. economy, and thus China's demand for commodities will remain strong.
However, Paul van Eeden, President of Cranberry Capital Inc., said consumers will spend less, meaning the U.S. will import less, and this will negatively impact China with 30% of its GDP gained from exports.
Van Eeden said copper, aluminium, lead, zinc and molybdenum prices have all been driven up this year on soaring demand from Asia and speculation by financial institutions. He said a fall in demand from China would force these financial institutions to pull out completely.
In recent study entitled "The Coming Nuclear Winter Base Metals," Frank Veneroso agreed that speculation by hedge funds has resulted in the price increases in base metals.
"If hedge funds have been managing base metals prices, eventually these funds and the base metals should go the way of Amaranth," he said. "I believe it is the activities of these funds and their eventual failure that will determine the price break that begins the inevitable deep decline back to marginal cost for this complex."
He said any economic weakness somewhere around the globe would result in record sustained surpluses and a "mountain of inventory."
In an issue of the Financial Monitor, Martin Murenbeeld, Chief Economist of Dundee Group of Companies, actually calculated the effect that past U.S. recessions had and found that "China is not as dependent on the U.S. economy as one might have thought."
According to Murenbeeld, for the seven years (not counting 1960) that the U.S. economy was in recession, the average increase in Chinese exports as a percent of GDP was 0.14%, with a range of -0.75% in 2001 to 1.29% in 1991.
"U.S. recessions don't seem to hurt Chinese exports in any consistent manner!" Murenbeeld exclaimed.
He added that for the same seven years the change in U.S. imports as a percent of GDP averaged -0.09%, meaning that "U.S. recessions do hurt U.S. imports in a consistent manner!"
A U.S. recession might cut 1% off the Chinese exports to GDP percentage, meaning that Chinese
GDP growth is damaged by at least 1% with the loss of exports, according to the report. But simple regression analysis for the period 1980-2006, suggests a 1% rise in U.S. GDP adds 0.58% to Chinese GDP. Assuming Chinese GDP would grow at 9.6% in a world where U.S. GDP grows 3.0%, a U.S. GDP growth of -1% would knock 2.3% off the Chinese growth rate.
"This is less than one might have imagined!" Murenbeeld said. "My inclination is to suggest that Chinese exports and Chinese GDP dance to their own drummer more than to the U.S. drummer."
In other words, demand for commodities in China will not wither away in the event of a U.S. recession.
Conclusion
Regardless of whether a U.S. recession will negatively impact China's growth, and in turn, demand for base metals, analysts agree the dollar is falling and gold is rising.
Van Eeden said gold is still "on its way to $900 and $1000." Turk predicted gold will hit $850 early next year.
Gold for December delivery closed up $11.60 at $640.60 an ounce today after hitting a high of $641.60 on Nymex.

Chandigarh, Nov 26 Hallmarking on gold jewellery shall be made mandatory from January 1, 2008 by the government, Mr Y P Singh, Additional Director General , Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) said today.Addressing a seminar on hallmarking of gold/silver jewellery, organized by BIS here, he informed that in order to promote gold hallmarking among consumers and bring more jewellers under assaying ambit, BIS is planning to spread its network of assaying and hallmarking centres in the country. Thirty five additional assaying centres will be set up by March next year, he added.The government shall be giving one time financial incentive of 15 per cent of the cost of machinery and equipments subject to maximum of Rs 15 lakhs per centre for hallmarking, he added.Mr Singh informed that according to an estimate there are more than three lakh jewellery retailers, manufacturers and over 100 large-scale units manufacturing jewellery in the country. He informed that BIS had conducted a market survey on 120 samples drawn from eight cities, which revealed failure of 88 per cent samples with average purity shortage of 11 per cent.Another market survey revealed that more than 90 per cent samples failed against the purity declared as wide as 44.66 per cent and average shortage of 13.5 per cent . In Chandigarh, all the 10 samples drawn failed with maximum shortage in purity of 18.71 per cent and average shortage of 10.4 per cent.Mr Singh said that uptil October 31 this year, 2,708 gold hallmarking licenses had been issued by BIS in the country. About 162 lakh pieces of gold, silver and artefacts had been hallmarked uptil October this year.

By Reuters
Sunday November 26, 10:05 PM
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Oil producing nations are exploiting oil consuming countries with high oil prices and India is being deprived of 1 percent of economic growth because of costly oil, its finance minister said on Sunday.
Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram told a regional World Economic Forum that speculation was driving oil prices, as prices had fallen from near $80 a barrel to $58 when there had been no change in demand and little change in supply.
"I continue to say that it is speculation driven and the world must come to some kind of understanding between oil producing countries and oil consuming countries to how these shocks can be reduced. We are at risk here," he said.
India imports 70 percent of its oil. The Asian Development Bank says every $10 rise in average global oil prices over a one-year period hurts Asia's economic growth by 0.6 percentage points.
"The world must come to terms with the fact that oil producing countries are exploiting the requirement of oil consuming countries," Chidambaram said.
"India's being robbed of at least 1 percent of growth because of high oil prices."
India's economy, Asia's fourth largest, is forecast to grow about 8 percent in the fiscal year to March 2007, although the government is keen to boost this to nearer 10 percent to bring down its fiscal deficit and lift nearly a quarter of the population out of poverty.
Oil's descent from a record of $78.40 in July prompted OPEC in October to cut oil output by 1.2 million barrels per day from Nov. 1.
Prices over the past few weeks have dipped below $55 before rebounding to about $60 on Friday.
"It's not in our hands. Until we search for more oil and gas reserves we are dependent on the world," Chidambaram said.

Researchers use genetics of wheat to boost its nutrients WASHINGTON -- Scientists have found a genetic way to boost the protein, zinc, and iron content in wheat, an achievement that could help bring more nutritious food to many millions of people worldwide.

ECB MAY HIKE INT RATE......................BE CAUTIOUS

Euro breaks above $1.30 for first time since April 2005...........Bullion follows Up direction

New Delhi, Nov 24 - The Forward Markets Commission [FMC] would look into alleged speculative actions, if any, in maize trading on exchanges in recent days, assured Finance Minister P Chidambaram here. FMC is the regulator for the commodities futures exchanges.
Chidambaram said the Cabinet did discuss existing price trend in commodities in its recent meet, but the issue [misconduct in maize trading] did not come up for special focus. If required, the FMC will conduct an enquiry, he added.
Chidambaram said though sugar and wheat price have come down marginally, but the satisfactory level has yet not arrived. Commenting on the soaring trend in pulses, Chidambaram said dwindling supplies have forced the rise

Traders be cautious as US Market will be close on Thrusday and Friday as Thanks Giving Holiday in US. Japan is Closed on Friday. LME movement will be over by 6.00 PM IST.Dont take any fresh positions to Avoid Dull markets till monday.

The global copper market recorded a 228,000 metric ton surplus in the first nine months of 2006, the World Bureau of Metal Statistics said Wednesday.Chinese output rose by 372,000 tons, Indian, Zambian and Japanese production rose by 101,000 tons, 68,000 tons and 107,000 tons respectively compared with the comparable months of 2005, the WBMS said.Consumption in the Jan. to Sept. period stood at 12.81 million tons, up almost 2% on the year.Chinese consumption fell by 6.9% to 2.61 million tons due to lower demand for imported copper, the WBMS said.

The Precious metal markets have been trending higher for the last few weeks, even though the U.S. stock market managed to climb to new multi-month highs. The week started on Monday morning with strong physical demand which allowed the metals to neutralize most of the losses seen last Friday. A combination of a weakening dollar, stronger energy pricing and speculative short covering helped create a solid base from which gold and silver were able to rally on Wednesday right up to key technical resistance. Volume continues to remain muted but most experts agree that once the holiday period in the United States ends volume should pick up considerably. Platinum was the bell of the ball this week trading from an intra-day low on Friday of $1137, to an intra-day high on Tuesday of $1289, representing a $152.00 move in less than 3 trading days. Profit taking late in the session on Tuesday spilled over to Wednesday as the platinum market closed $132.00 off its intra-day high. The key driving force as we head into the last six weeks of the year may be the U.S. dollar as many traders are starting to speculate that new lows maybe right around the corner.GOLD:Monex spot gold prices opened the week at $624 . . . traded as high as $634 on Wednesday and as low as $620 on Monday . . . and the Monex AM settlement price on Wednesday was $629, up $7 for the week. Gold support is now anticipated at $622, then $614, and then $506 . . . and resistance anticipated at $632, then $638, and then $650.SILVER:Monex spot silver prices opened the week at $12.92 . . . traded as high as $13.24 on Wednesday and as low as $12.73 on Monday . . . and the Monex AM settlement price on Wednesday was $13.06 up $.28 for the week. Silver support is now anticipated at $12.80, then $12.45, and then $11.87 . . . and resistance anticipated at $13.25, then $13.40, and then $13.85.PLATINUM:Monex spot platinum prices opened the week at $1,237 . . . traded as high as $1,289 on Tuesday and as low as $1,149 on Wednesday . . . and the Monex AM settlement price on Wednesday was $1,157, down $32 for the week. Platinum support is now anticipated at $1,143, then $1,100, and then $1,080 . . . and resistance anticipated at $1,160, then $1,220, and then $1,265PALLADIUM:Monex spot palladium prices opened the week at $324 . . . traded as high as $333 on Tuesday and as low as $320 on Monday . . . and the Monex AM settlement price on Wednesday was $324, up $6 for the week. Palladium support is now anticipated at $317, then $305, and then $290 . . . and resistance anticipated at $338 then $365, and then $405.QUOTE OF THE WEEK:From Congressman Ron Paul's "Texas Straight Talk":"The death of economist Milton Friedman last week at the age of 94 marks a great loss for advocates of freedom everywhere. He was perhaps the most successful free-market economist of the 20th century, in terms of his real-world impact on politics and policy. Many modern politicians, including Ronald Reagan, considered him a major influence in their careers.Milton Friedman was a strong advocate of economic liberty who opposed government intervention in both the purely economic and broader social spheres of our society. He believed not only in laissez-faire capitalism, but also the larger cause of individual liberty in the political sense. I was proud to know Dr. Friedman for many decades, and considered him a friend. I can assure you that he was no ivory tower academic, but rather an engaging and active man who worked very hard to demonstrate the applicability of economics to everyday life. His death only underscores the sad lack of economics knowledge in Washington, however. Many of our elected officials at every level have no understanding of economics whatsoever, yet they wield tremendous power over our economy through taxes, regulations, and countless other costs associated with government. They spend your money with little or no thought given to the economic consequences of their actions. It is indeed a tribute to the American entrepreneurial spirit that we have enjoyed such prosperity over the decades; clearly it is in spite of government policies rather than because of them.The truth is that many politicians and voters essentially believe in a free lunch. They believe in a free lunch because they don't understand basic economics, and therefore assume government can spend us into prosperity. This is the fallacy that pervades American politics today. Our schools teach children virtually nothing about economics and personal finance, which leaves them woefully unprepared for the working world. It also creates whole generations of young Americans who are incredibly vulnerable to the worst pandering politicians.We cannot suspend the laws of economics or the principles of human action any more than we can suspend the laws of physics. Yet this is precisely what Congress attempts to do time and time again, no matter how many times history proves them wrong or economists easily demonstrate the harms caused by a certain policy. The nation would be well-served if Congress spent more time reading the works of Milton Friedman, and less time worrying about petty party spoils."This is not a recommendation to buy or sell.

Oil leak! January Crude Oil fell below $59 this morning, after the EIA announced that Crude Oil stocks rose by 5.1 million barrels last week. This was way above the 400,000 barrel gain most traders were expecting. A sizable build in Gasoline stocks and weather forecasts calling for average to above average temperatures in the eastern half of the US also weighed on Oil prices. The initial sell-off wiped out all of yesterday's gains from the slowdown of Oil movement through the Trans-Alaska Pipeline due to severe weather. However, some late day position squaring buying ahead of the long Thanksgiving holiday allowed the market to end the session well off the day's lows. Support for January Crude Oil comes in at $58.00, with resistance seen at $61.40. January Crude Oil closed at $59.24, down $0.93.
Going into the Thanksgiving holiday, Wheat futures ended on an up-note, as a purchase of US Soft Red Winter Wheat by Egypt had renewed the belief that US exports will soon pick-up steam. Egypt announced it bought 60,000 tons of US Wheat in addition to 120,000 tons of French Wheat. Floor sources also tied today's rally to unwinding of Corn/Wheat and Soybean/Wheat spreads. New-crop July Wheat led the way higher, as continued concerns about drought conditions in the Southern Plains have traders concerned about the state of the newly planted crop. Spread trading was active, as speculators continue to roll out of the December contract ahead of next week's first notice day on November 30th. Support for July Wheat comes in at $4.62, with resistance seen at $4.90. July Wheat closed at $4.87, up 12 1/2 cents.
Bears stand their ground! Gold and Silver prices ended little changed from yesterday, after tests of weekly highs were made in today's session. December Gold closed up 30 cents at $629, off a range of $627 to $635, low to high. Gold rallied along with the Euro versus the US Dollar early in the session, but Gold was unable to hold on to the gains, despite the Euro remaining firm into the New York dealing close. The bears rejected prices above $630 today, which suggests that Gold is not ready to break out of its trading range of $615 to $635. Momentum on the daily charts is sideways/down, as it has been since 11/13, but December futures have been unable to break down and close below critical support levels of $620, $610, and $600. Resistance remains at $630 and $637 respectively. Gold is likely to remain within the bounds of the well-worn trading range of the past few weeks.
December Silver futures lost 4 1/2 cents to settle $13.04. The session saw a high of $13.25 and a low of $13. Silver probed new weekly highs today, before losing its footing and falling into negative territory. The market did manage to hold the psychologically significant $13 per ounce level, despite the rejection of higher prices. Today's $13.25 high was the highest Silver price since 9/06, after which the market sold-off the next two weeks to trade below $11 per ounce. Silver bulls may need some time to break through the upper resistance at $13.50, as this price has been well-defended by bears in the past. Look for Silver to trade sideways while bulls regroup to attack resistance. Carl Christensen XPRESSTRADE analyst.

ALL MARKETS CLOSED TODAY DUE TO US THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY

US EIA: GASOLINE STOCK UP BY +1.4 M TO 201.7 M
US EIA:DISTILATE STOCK LESS BY -1.2 M TO 133.8 M
US EIA:CRUDE STOCK UP BY +5.1 M TO 341.1 M

Copper Drops as U.S. Housing Slowdown Seen Creating Oversupply Nov. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Copper declined on speculation a U.S. housing slowdown has created an oversupply of the metal used in wires and pipes.

Platinum rose to a record in London on speculation a new investment fund for the metal will make it more accessible to investors, putting a squeeze on supply

Crude oil prices edge above $59/bl Crude oil prices staged a modest rally today on speculation that the OPEC cartel could announce further crude production cuts, dealers said.

Gold prices continued to gain on the bullion market today on sustained buying by stockists and retail customers amid firm overseas trend and rose further by Rs 10 at Rs 9180 per 10 gram.

Prominent business leader calls for Chilean copper miner Codelco privatization RENO, NV (Mineweb.com) --Influential Chilean businessman Horst Paulmann, the chief executive of Chilean retail giant Cencosud, has called for the privatization of the world’s largest copper miner, state-owned Codelco.

oil prices

LONDON (AFX) - Oil prices reversed yesterday's decline to trade back above 59 usd a barrel on news bad weather has interrupted oil supplies at Alaska's key export terminal and as traders looked to further draw downs in fuel stocks ahead of winter.
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At 9.18 am in London, front-month Brent North Sea crude contracts for January delivery were up 22 cents at 59.20 usd a barrel, after settling down 1 cent at 58.98 usd yesterday.
Meanwhile, New York light sweet crude contracts for January delivery were up 24 cents at 59.03 usd a barrel, after closing down 58 cents at 58.80 usd yesterday.
On Friday, December New York crude contracts expired at a 17-month low of 55.81 usd

zinc copper turnover

MCX sees highest turnover in copper and zinc futures
Mumbai, November 9, 2006 : MCX has registered highest turnover in copper and zinc futures contracts on its platform on Wednesday (trading ended at 11.55 pm including session I and II). The total turnover of copper traded on the exchange was Rs 1,548.27 crores in terms of value and 47,223 tonnes in volume terms.On Wednesday, the copper prices (November contract) touched an intra day high of Rs 334.25 per kg and an intra-day low of Rs 322 per kg witnessing a range of Rs 12.25 per kg. Meanwhile, open interest in copper has gone up.On Tuesday, it was 17,985 tonnes (in terms of volume), while it went up on Wednesday touching 24,990 tonnes indicating growing interest among participants.Besides copper, zinc also witnessed a record turnover on MCX as it touched Rs 958.12 crores (in value terms), while the turnover in volume was 47,170 tonnes. The turnover of the base metal was the highest so far on MCX.The price of zinc (November contract) touched an intra day high of Rs 207.65 per kg, while the intra day low was Rs 197. The open interest level for the commodity on Wednesday was 7895 tonnes. Disclaimer: The information provided here is only for public information. The information provided here is not guaranteed for its accuracy or completeness. It is solely meant for information dissemination and knowledge sharing. Neither MCX nor its employees accept any liability, whatsoever, for any trading decision and loss incurred or airing from the use of this publication. MCX or any of its affiliates makes no warranties as to the accuracy of information, or results to be obtained from its use.

Forecasters Look for Economy to Slow
By MARTIN CRUTSINGER
WASHINGTON - The U.S. economy has been battered by a bigger-than-expected slump in housing but will keep growing next year as consumers get relief from soaring energy costs.
The NABE panel predicted that the overall economy, as measured by the gross domestic product, would expand by 2.5 percent in 2007.That is down slightly from the previous survey in September which forecast that the economy would grow by 2.7 percent next year. The expectations for 2006 were also marked down with GDP growth now put at 3.3 percent instead of 3.4 percent forecast in the previous survey. The economy expanded by 3.2 percent in 2005 and 3.9 percent in 2004.A bigger-than-anticipated slump in housing was the primary reason for the reductions. The NABE panel said that housing construction would fall by 3.5 percent this year and an even larger 5.5 percent in 2007.Both of those figures are larger declines than the NABE forecasters had previously predicted. Both would represent quite a reversal from the 8.6 percent increase in residential investment for all of 2005 compared to 2004.Housing is currently in a steep slump following an extended five-year boom powered by the lowest mortgage rates in a generation. Sales of both new and existing homes, which set records for five straight years, have been falling. Construction of new homes and apartments has declined, with construction activity in October down 27.4 percent from a year ago.The Federal Reserve engineered the current economic slowdown with a two-year campaign to push interest rates up. The Fed's goal was to achieve a soft landing in which economic growth slowed enough to reduce inflation without bringing on a recession.The NABE forecasters predicted the Fed would achieve that soft landing. They saw consumer prices, which rose by 3.7 percent last year, rising by just 2.7 percent this year and an even lower 2.5 percent in 2007.Part of the good news on inflation will come from lower oil prices. NABE forecasters looked for a barrel of West Texas intermediate crude oil to sell for $60 at the end of this year, instead of the $70 they were forecasting two months ago. Crude oil was forecast to be at $56 per barrel at the end of 2007.The NABE panel forecast a 2.8 percent increase this year in core inflation, which excludes food and energy, and a 2.4 percent rise in 2007. All the inflation rates were measured from the fourth quarter of one year to the fourth quarter of the next."Despite the hindrance of the housing correction, the economy is expected to continue gaining ground in 2007," said Carl Tannenbaum, NABE president and chief economist at LaSalle Bank/ABN AMRO in Chicago.The slower growth will have an impact on the job market. The NABE panel forecast that the unemployment rate would rise from an expected average for all this year of 4.7 percent to 4.9 percent in 2007.The forecasters, however, said the fall in inflation pressures will mean that the Fed will not feel the need to raise interest rates further. They predicted that the federal funds rate, the interest that banks charge each other, will remain at the current 5.25 percent for an extended period. After raising rates at 17 consecutive meetings, the Fed has kept rates unchanged since August.The NABE panel said the central bank's next move would likely be to cut rates, once inflation pressures retreat further. The forecasters saw two quarter-point rate cuts occurring in the second half of next year.The latest NABE consensus survey was prepared from the responses of its forecasting panel submitted from Oct. 20 through Nov. 6. NABE, with 2,400 members, is a professional association for people who use economics in their work.

US Stocks Stall After 6-Day Rally; Exxon, Energy Shares Slide

A six-day rally in U.S. stocks stalled following declines in Asian and European equity markets, as speculation grew that economic and earnings growth will slow.
Exxon Mobil Corp. led energy companies lower after oil prices retreated on signs that mild temperatures in the U.S. Northeast may trim heating demand. Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. slid after the company agreed to buy Phelps Dodge Corp. for $25.9 billion in the world's biggest mining takeover.
``At some point the market's going to care about the U.S. economy continuing to slow down and being a threat to earnings,'' said Peter Boockvar, equity strategist at Miller Tabak & Co. in New York.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 10.40, or 0.1 percent, to 12,332.16 at 10:23 a.m. in New York, threatening to end its longest winning streak in a year. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index added 0.27 to 1401.47. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 1.93, or 0.1 percent, at 2447.79.
Following a six-day advance, the S&P 500's relative strength index today reached 71.56, which is above a threshold of 70 that indicates it has risen too far, too fast. The index identifies possible turning points for a security by calculating the degree by which gains outpace losses in a given time period.
Global Retreat
Stocks in Europe and Asia fell, with the Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index retreating from a six-year high reached last week, while the Morgan Stanley Capital International Asia-Pacific Index posted its biggest drop since Sept. 11.
A streak of at least 10 percent profit expansion by S&P 500 companies is forecast to end this quarter, according to Thomson Financial on Nov. 17. Earnings will increase 8.5 percent, based on analysts' estimates.
An index of leading U.S. economic indicators rose in October. The Conference Board's index increased 0.2 percent after a revised gain of 0.4 percent in September that was four times larger than initially reported, the New York-based group said today. The index points to the direction of the economy over the next three to six months.
A measure of oil-related companies declined 0.8 percent for the worst performance among 24 industry groups in the S&P 500. The shares make up 9.6 percent of the benchmark index.
Crude oil for January delivery fell 0.9 percent to $58.47 a barrel in electronic trading in New York.
Exxon slid 75 cents to $72.33. Chevron Corp. dropped 32 cents to $68.78.
M&A
A slew of mergers-and-acquisitions announcements kept the market from falling further.
Freeport dropped 69 cents to $56.71 after the company agreed to buy Phelps Dodge. Phelps Dodge stockholders will get $88 in cash and 0.67 share of Freeport. The deal values Phelps Dodge at $126.46 a share, 33 percent more than its last closing price. Shares of Phelps Dodge surged $26.56 to $121.58.
Charles Schwab Corp. climbed 29 cents to $18.85 after Bank of America Corp. said it will buy U.S. Trust, the private-banking arm of Schwab, for $3.3 billion in cash to lure wealthy clients. Shares of Bank of America added 12 cents to $54.97.
Nasdaq Stock Market Inc. gained 13 cents to $36.70 after the bourse bid for the remaining 75 percent of London Stock Exchange Plc it doesn't own.
Nasdaq, the largest U.S. electronic equity exchange, made its second attempt to buy the operator of Europe's biggest equity market. The offer values the U.K. exchange at about 2.7 billion pounds ($5.1 billion). LSE rejected the bid, saying it ``substantially undervalues the company.''
Nasdaq
Shares of billionaire Sam Zell's Equity Office Properties Trust rose $3.14 to $47.86 after Blackstone Group LP, manager of the world's largest buyout fund, agreed to buy the top U.S. office landlord, for about $20 billion in the biggest private- equity deal in history.
Equity Office shareholders will receive $48.50 a share. Including assumption of Equity Office debt, the transaction is worth $36 billion, topping the $33 billion acquisition of hospital chain HCA Inc. announced in July.
Companies have announced about $1.51 trillion of U.S. deals this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, building on the busiest year for U.S. takeovers since 2000. Across the globe, mergers and acquisitions rose to a record $3.1 trillion.
Allergan
Allergan Inc. rose $5.75 to $118.25. Silicon breast implants made by the company will again be sold for cosmetic use in the U.S., after regulators ended sales restrictions imposed 14 years ago for safety reasons.
Microsoft Corp., the world's largest software-maker, rose 28 cents to $29.68 after Credit Suisse Group raised its stock recommendation for the company to ``outperform'' from ``neutral.''
``The stock can appreciate nearly 20 percent from current levels given increased confidence in our earnings estimates, strengthening market position in digital entertainment and the potential for revenue upside,'' analysts including Jason Maynard and Bryan McGrath wrote in a research note. They raised the stock's price estimate to $35 from $29.

armed man attack nigerian aid group

Armed men attack Nigerian aid group 2006/11
By KATHARINE HOURELD, Associated Press Writer 13 minutes ago
LAGOS, Nigeria - Armed men attacked the offices of a Nigerian aid group in the southern oil hub of Port Harcourt, killing one person and wounding another, the organization‘s head said Monday.
Asuni‘s group promotes conflict management and peace education in Nigeria and Ghana, and has spent recent years focusing on Nigeria‘s restive oil delta.
Eni said it intended to resume production soon at the Tebidada flow station, operated through Eni‘s subsidiary Agip. The facility has an output of 50,000 barrels a day.
"All personnel is in good health, and production will be restored shortly once the necessary checks have been completed," Eni said. A spokeswoman said she did not immediately know if any damage occurred in the takeover.
Eni‘s equity stake in oil output from the facility is about 9,000 barrels a day. Most of the rest is held by Nigeria‘s state-run company.
Since the beginning of this year, militant groups have attacked oil pipelines and taken oil workers hostage in violence that has cut about 25 percent of the country‘s usual crude output of about 2.5 million barrels daily. Civilian protesters have also taken over oil facilities to protest lack of jobs and development in the regions.
Despite Nigeria being Africa‘s biggest oil producer, most inhabitants of the oil-rich delta remain poor.